


To Kiss on a Dare

by CupCakezys



Series: Kissing Prompts from Tumblr [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gwaine Being Gwaine (Merlin), He's a terrible influence honestly, Polyamory, Shy Merlin (Merlin), Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23116645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CupCakezys/pseuds/CupCakezys
Summary: Gwaine (and the rest of Merlin's friends) have had enough of his pining.
Relationships: Freya/Merlin (Merlin), Gwaine/Percival (Merlin), Gwen/Lancelot/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Kissing Prompts from Tumblr [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661623
Comments: 5
Kudos: 45





	To Kiss on a Dare

**Author's Note:**

> From this [prompt list](https://cupcakezys.tumblr.com/post/611692737806352384/prompt-list) if you want to send a number and a ship for me to write! :)

“Merlin, mate, you’re pining is worse than mine was.”

Merlin snorted, not looking at his friend. “No one could pine as hard as you pined for Percival.”

“Not true.” Gwaine denied. “Remember how useless Lance and Arthur used to be whenever Gwen so much as walked into the same room as them?”

Merlin hummed, not really paying attention. Gwaine sighed.

“At least they’ve stopped now she’s dating them.” Gwaine rolled over in the grass, landing half on Merlin and making him huff.

He still refused to look away from the where he could see Freya painting in the courtyard.

“You’ve got it bad.” Gwaine said, like Merlin didn’t already know. “Seriously mate, this is borderline creepy, and I can’t allow my best friend to become a creep.”

“I’m not creepy.” Merlin protested, finally turning to look at Gwaine.

“No, you’re just an idiot.” Arthur called, flopping down onto the grass beside them.

Gwaine pushed himself up, a massive grin stretched across his face, as the rest of their friends sat around them.

“Perce!” Gwaine threw himself at his boyfriend, draping dramatically across his lap. “Tell Merlin he needs to stop pining and just kiss Freya already.”

Percival cocked his head. “Isn’t that what he said to you?”

“Yes!” Gwaine waved his hands in the air, almost smacking Percival in the face. “And look how well that turned out for us!”

“Who’s Freya?” Leon asked.

“A girl in the year below us.” Lance said, wrapping an arm around Gwen’s shoulder. “She spends most of her time painting.”

Merlin sighed and grinned, a dreamy look on his face. “She’s really good.”

Arthur rolled his eyes, something made less impressive with his head in Gwen’s lap and her fingers running through his hair. “We know. She was asked to paint the courtyard.”

“By the principal.” Gwen added.

“And the principal doesn’t like _anyone’s_ art.” Gwaine finished, rolling his own eyes.

Elyan turned to Gwen, eyebrows raised. “Do I want to know?”

Gwen chuckled. “Freya’s been all Merlin can talk about for weeks. I think we all know how amazing her art is.”

Merlin huffed, his cheeks red. “Shut up, all of you.”

Everyone laughed, and then Gwaine sat up, his eyes full of mischief. Merlin groaned. That look never meant anything good for Merlin, or anyone that wasn’t Gwaine.

“Let’s play truth or dare.”

Merlin immediately scrambled up in an attempt to run. Arthur, the bastard, was faster. He leapt up and grabbed Merlin around the middle, pulling them both back to the ground. Merlin glared at his so-called friends.

“I hate all of you.”

“Merlin.” Leon said, serious.

Merlin almost believed he was about to help him.

Almost.

“Truth or dare?”

Merlin pouted.

“He picks dare.” Gwen said.

Merlin turned to her in betrayal. “Gwen!”

“I dare you to kiss Freya!” Gwaine sang, and Merlin wondered how he’d never noticed his best friends were all assholes.

“That’s not how this works.” Merlin protested. “Gwen can’t pick for me!”

“Then you need to pick one.” Percival suggested.

Merlin crossed his arms, elbowing Arthur in the face as he did and not even pretending it was an accident. The prat didn’t even flinch.

“No.” Merlin said. “I’m not playing.”

Gwaine shook his head. “Sorry mate, but that’s not an option. Now, I dare you to go kiss your lady love.”

Merlin turned to Lancelot, his only true best friend and his last hope. “Lance, tell them they can’t make me do this.”

Lancelot looked from Merlin to everyone sitting with them, landing last on Gwen and having a silent conversation with her with his eyes. It was something they’d done a lot since they started dating, and something Arthur had been extremely jealous of until the three of them had all sat down and talked it all out. Merlin didn’t know the details, but it had ended in Gwen being showered in kisses from both her boyfriends, so he assumed it went well.

As Lancelot turned back to him with a sparkle in his eyes and a smile pulling at his lips, he suddenly wished the Earth would swallow him up to save him the trouble he knew was coming.

“You can’t back out of a truth or dare Merlin. It’s in the rules.” He said gravely.

Merlin glared. “Fuck all of you.”

Gwaine and Arthur laughed. Percival pulled Gwaine into his lap, hiding his grin in his hair. Elyan was shaking his head and laughing quietly to himself, but Merlin didn’t hear him stepping up to help him, so as far as he was concerned he was a traitor as well. Leon just shrugged when Merlin looked to him. Gwen and Lance were struggling to hide their own laughter.

Traitors, the lot of them.

“Fine!” Merlin yelled, shoving Arthur until he let him go. “I’ll do it!”

He stood up, arms by his side and fists clenched, and without another word marched towards the courtyard. Gwaine scrambled up after him, a slightly guilty expression on his face.

“You know you don’t have to do this. We’re all just mucking about.”

“I know.” Merlin said, but he was determined. Or stubborn, if you asked his mother. “But you’re right. I need to stop pining and just... tell her how I feel.”

Gwaine face split into a grin in an instant. “Well then, good luck mate.”

He stopped and jogged back to their circle of friends, and Merlin forced himself not to do the same. He had to do this – he really liked Freya, she had rapidly become one of his best friends in just under a month, and Merlin had liked her for at least half of that.

She saw him coming, as usual. She leaned back from the wall the was painting on, golden paint dripping off of the brush she was using, and waved. Merlin waved back, heart skipping a beat and pulse racing.

“Merlin!” Freya called, her voice soft even when she was yelling. “Come tell me what you think.”

Merlin looked at what she’d been painting – it was a pair of doves, startling white and beautifully detailed. The school motto was half painted around it, the cheesy words seeming elegant written in Freya’s careful hand. 

“It’s beautiful.” Merlin said honestly. Freya blushed, but a small smile pulled at her lips. Merlin counted it as a win. “Why doves?”

Freya leaned in close, smirking. “The principal requested them specifically.”

Merlin’s eyes widened. “No way.”

Freya giggled. “It’s true!”

Merlin shook his head in disbelief. “Can’t believe grouchy Mr Pendragon would ask for _doves_ to be painted on his precious school building.”

“He’s not that bad.” Freya chastised. “Besides, isn’t Arthur your best friend?”

Merlin nodded. “Which is how I know just how grouchy he really is.” He glanced around, suddenly paranoid that Mr Pendragon would be standing right behind him. “Don’t tell him I said that.”

Freya smiled softly. “I won’t.”

The conversation trailed off awkwardly, in a way it never did when they were reading together in the library, or sitting out during sport and talking about whatever came to mind. Merlin swallowed, the sound so loud in his ears he was certain Freya had heard it. He’d never been so nervous in his life, not even when he’d spilled juice all over his mum’s new couch.

Then Freya glanced up at him through her eyelashes and smiled, and Merlin found himself leaning towards her before he could second guess himself.

The kiss was more a brief touch of lips than anything, a second where their lips were just barely touching, and then Merlin was pulling away, his mind catching up to him and making him flush bright red from embarrassment.

Freya’s eyes were wide, cheeks dusted pink, and her hands hovered over her mouth. She didn’t say anything, just stared at him, and Merlin though his heart might just beat out of his chest and start running.

“I was dared to.” He blurted, before he could think.

Freya’s smile dropped and hurt crept onto her face “Oh.”

Merlin winced and hurried to explain. “I didn’t mean it like that! I just- I mean- they dared me to, but only because they know how much I like you, and that I’d probably never tell you without a push. Not that they would have held me to the dare or anything, they were only teasing, and I only came over to shut them up really.”

He was blushing harder than he ever had before, he knew it, but at least the hurt marring Freya’s face was gone. He gave her a small smile and glanced down at his feet.

“What I mean to say is, I didn’t kiss you because of the dare.” He mumbled.

Freya bit her bottom lip. “You kissed me because you like me?”

Merlin looked up, into her eyes. “Yes.”

A beautiful smile grew on her face. “I like you too.”

Merlin blinked. “Really?”

Freya giggled and nodded. They both stared awkwardly at each for a moment before looking away, and Merlin ran a hand through his hair.

“Do you want to go out on Saturday?” He asked.

Freya nodded. “Yes. There’s a café on the corner of the main street-“

“I know it.” Merlin grinned. “Meet you there at twelve?”

“It’s a date.” Freya said, smiling shyly.

“It is.” Merlin agreed, and waved awkwardly as he backed away.

Freya waved back, making it marginally less awkward, and Merlin turned and all but skipped back to his friends. Gwaine slapped him on the back as he sat down, and everyone was grinning and staring at him expectedly.

“So, what happened?” Gwen asked finally.

Merlin grinned. “We’re going on a date this Saturday.”

Everyone immediately started asking a million questions, and Merlin grinned. He’d tell them, after a while. After all, they’d got to have their fun teasing him, and even if it all turned out amazing in the end, Merlin thought he was allowed some fun too.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me over on [Tumblr](https://cupcakezys.tumblr.com)


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